General:
The Chichibu Railway is a regional railway that runs 71.7km between Hanyu and Mitsumineguchi across northern Saitama prefecture, just north of the Tokyo metropolitan area, from east to west. It intersects with the Joetsu Shinkansen and the conventional Takasaki Line at Kumagaya, about 65 km north of Tokyo and 15 km west of Hanyu, where it connects to the Tobu Isezaki Line.

This regional railway was so named because its western end serves the Chichibu district. Chichibu, quietly situated at the foot of the Chichibu mountain range, is known as a historical town whose prosperity dates back to several hundred years because of its silk textile industry. Another factor in its fame is its cement industry, thanks to the rich limestone resources in Mt. Buko, located just south of Chichibu City. Mitsumineguchi (guchi means “entrance”), the western terminus of the line, is the access point for Mt. Mitsumine, known for the more than 1000-year-old Mitsumine Shrine located deep in a Japanese cedar forest near its summit, and also as the starting point for mountaineering in the inner Chichibu range. There is also a tourist spot along the main line at Nagatoro Gorge, which attracts sightseers with its beautiful canyon lined with abundant greenery on both banks. Thus, the Chichibu Railway plays three roles: as a commuter service over the eastern segment linking Kumagaya (Yorii-Kumagaya-Hanyu), as a freight transportation service and as a tourist railway service.

The origin of the railway dates back to in 1901, when the Jobu Railway – the predecessor of Chichibu – opened the first segment between Kumagaya and Yorii, with its steam-hauled trains. The line was extended to Kagemori in 1917 with the commencement of freight service to transport limestone quarried on Mt. Buko. The eastern segment between Hanyu and Kumagaya was initially operated by the Hokubu Railway, but was merged with Chichibu Railway in 1922. The line was entirely electrified in the same year on 1200 VDC. The railway was finally extended to Mitsumineguchi, completing the current trackage. In 1952 the voltage was increased to 1500 VDC, as the JNR Takasaki Line was electrified on the same voltage.

The line consists entirely of single track on 1,067 narrow gauge with 31 interlocking stations including both terminals and five non-interlocking stations. It is fully signaled with automatic blocking systems along with an automatic train stopping (ATS) system. The traffic is entirely controlled through a centralized traffic control (CTC) system.

The railway’s main line looks like single line crossing over the two JR trunk lines at Kumagaya, but the passenger traffic splits into two different flows on the eastern and western segments across Kumagaya. Although the railway is a normal passenger line served by EMUs, it attracts railway enthusiasts due to its two distinctive features: busy freight operations and steam trains.

The Chichibu Railway cannot be mentioned without referring to Chichibu-Onoda Co. (established in 1994 through a merger between Chichibu Cement Co. and Onoda Cement Co.). Since the foundation of Chichibu Cement Co. in 1923 to utilize the limestone resources on Mt. Buko, the company has been deeply involved with the Chichibu Railway in terms of both capital and corporate officers. Chichibu-Onoda is still the top stockholder of Chichibu Railway Co.

Freight Operation:
The railway’s freight operations take place between Kagemori and Kumagaya freight depot on the JR Takasaki Line reached from Takekawa station through a freight branch line (7.6 km). On the main line there are four freight yards, at Hirosekawara, Bushu-Haraya, Chichibu and Kagemori. There used to be a short freight branch from Kagemori to Buko, but it was abolished in 1984 when a belt conveyer system was put into service between Mt. Buko and Nippon Cement’s Saitama Plant.

Chichibu’s freight hauling fleet consists of 21 50-ton class electric locomotives. There are eight Deki-100s, three Deki-200s, three Deki-300s and seven Deki-500s, built by Hitachi in 1951, 1963, 1967 and 1973, respectively. The railway also owns a number of freight cars, comprising over one hundred hoppers and some tens of brakeman-cabin-equipped hoppers.

Chichibu’s freight operations are the busiest among non-JR private railways in Japan. The freight operations mostly consist of limestone transportation between Kagemori and the Mikajiri freight depot on the branch line, where a Chichibu-Onoda cement complex is located, and cement trains between Chichibu and the JR Kumagaya freight depot, with each making about 15 round trips a day.

Steam Train:
Steam operations started in 1988 as a weekend tourist attraction with C58-363 (2-4-2, 58.9 tons), ex-JNR general-purpose steam engine, which was formally used on local lines throughout the country. Like the Oigawa Railway, the steam train features genuine old coaches, which make it most attractive. The train has been dubbed with an unusual name, the “Paleo Express,” after a legendary creature in the Chichibu district. It once was decorated with the letters of its nickname in gold on the sides of the tender, but thankfully was later repainted in its original plain livery. The steam train is currently operated between Kumagaya and Mitsumineguchi, a distance of 56.8km, on most Sundays except in winter.

Rolling Stock in Regular Passenger Service:
The most common rolling stock in the Chichibu Railway’s EMU fleet for regular passenger service is Type 1000, which is the ex-JR 101 class. Express trains make several round trips a day using Type 3000, the ex-JR 165 class, with their attractive crossed seats. Four 4-car Type 2000s, the ex-Tokyu Electric Railway 7000 class, are also in the fleet. Weekend specials are through trains from Seibu Railway using Type 4000 that directly connect to Ikebukuro in Tokyo.

The information and data were taken from “Chichibu Tetsudo” by Kazuaki Sawauchi in the Railway Pictorial No. 260 (April 1996 special edition).

Let’s look at a typical trip on a steam train from Kumagaya. The Chichibu Railway Kumagaya station is located adjacent to JR Kumagaya station, just below the viaduct of the Joetsu Shinkansen with an island platform. The steam train comes in towed by a Deki-108 electric locomotive in backward operation. The train consists of four old ex-JNR coaches: two Oha-47s sandwiched between two Suhafu-44s. These cars are the last version of the pre-modernized JNR coaches produced in the early 50s, but well retain the feeling of trains back in the good old days. The design of the Suhafu-44, with its conductor cabin outside the rear vestibule and straight car ends, is a common feature of this old type of JNR coach.

After leaving Kumagaya, the line runs parallel to the Joetsu Shinkansen on the viaduct for a while. Then, leaving the Shinkansen track behind, the train rolls through the Hirosekawara freight yard, past several electric locomotives in their blue livery resting on the right along with a number of hoppers. After passing two stations, the freight branch forming a link to the JR Kumagaya freight depot approaches from the right and converges at Takekawa. From here, busy freight operations share the main line as far as Kagemori, and you will often meet an oncoming freight train at an interlocking station.

Outside the window is rural scenery, with rice paddies and vegetable fields, along with a scattering of houses. In autumn, trees heavily laden with orange-colored fruit can be seen here and there in the yards of houses and fields. These are Kaki (persimmons), a common taste treat in Japan at this time of year.

Just before reaching Yorii, the JR Hachiko Line appears from the right, and the Tobu Tojo Line approaches from the left. Inside Yorii station are three island platforms serving the Hachiko, Chichibu and Tojo lines, respectively, with several sidings in between. After leaving Yorii, the Arakawa (Ara River) appears close by on the left, and the line starts running along the northern bank of the river. On the right now are steep mountain slopes, while on the left is a gorge stretching below covered with thick greenery, with forested mountain slopes beyond the opposite river bank. The train follows a succession of curves tracing the course of the river, and soon reaches Nagatoro, the center of this tourist area. About a third of passengers will likely get off here, and there will usually be a crowed of passengers on the platform observing the steam engine and waiting for a regular train.

The train next reaches Chichibu station, located in the center of Chichibu City. On the left here also are sidings for freight work. After a short run of a few hundred meters, you arrive at the next station, Ohanabatake, where the line is linked to the Seibu Railway. Up on the embankment adjacent to the track just ahead of the station is Seibu-Chichibu station, which is the terminus of Seibu Railway’s Chichibu Line. The “Red Arrow” limited express connects this station to Ikebukuro in Tokyo in about one and a half hours. The link track was completed between Ohanabatake and Seibu-Chichibu in 1989, enabling through service between both railways. Now, on weekends, some through trains are operated as far as Yorii and Mitsumineguchi from Ikebukuro. The through train comes as a single unit up to Ohanabatake, then splits into two trains, which go to Yorii and Mitsumineguchi, respectively.

Continuing on, a sheer mountain soon comes into view on the left. This is Mt. Buko, 1295 m in height and the symbol of the Chichibu district. The train rolls on for a while with the scene of Mt. Buko on the left, and pulls into Kagemori, located at the foot of the mountain.

A short freight line used to branch off from Kagemori to the Buko freight depot, and the abandoned lead track can be seen on the left. On the sidings you might see a couple of hopper trains with blue locomotives at their ends, and perhaps some 4-car Seibu Type 4000s taking a rest before returning to Seibu-Ikebukuro in the mid-afternoon. From Kagemori, the train moves on twisting right and left as it follows the edge of the mountain slopes on the left, sometimes crossing short but fairly high bridges over the tributaries of the Arakawa.

Finally you arrive in Mitsumineguchi, completing a steam trip that has lasted almost three hours. Beyond the station, the Chichibu mountain range rises before your eyes. Mt. Mitsumine is about a 20-minute bus ride from here. The station office is a wooden structure which retains the ambiance of an old local station in a rural area. There is a turntable at the station to turn the steam engine around for its return trip to Kumagaya. Resting on the sidings are some EMUs, Type 2000, 3000 and Seibu Type 4000.